The Congress high command is weighing a major organisational and leadership rejig in Karnataka after months of leadership tussle. Alongside handing over
the top post to DK Shivakumar, the party may replace the state unit chief with Satish Jarkiholi. Parallelly, discussions around a possible three deputy chief ministers formula have also surfaced. The decisions were reportedly taken following back-to-back meetings in the national capital involving Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala. There have been speculations about a possible change of chief minister in Karnataka for months. Supporters of Shivakumar have been insisting on his elevation in line with a reported power-sharing agreement with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah when the party won the 2023 Assembly elections. Read More - Karnataka CM Change Chatter Grows: DK Shivakumar To Meet Siddaramaiah At CM's Residence After Delhi Huddle There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also party state president, for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had then managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy CM. There were reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula." However, no such discussion was made official by the Grand Old Party.
As the tussle escalated, the Congress high command called the two leaders to Delhi for discussions. While Siddaramaiah and some of his cabinet colleagues, who had accompanied him to Delhi, returned to Bengaluru late last night, DK Shivakumar has stayed back in the national capital.
However, the Congress on Tuesday termed the talks on leadership change "mere speculation". The party said that the day-long discussions between the central and state top brass were solely focused on the upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha and the state legislative council.
